Animal attractions: Law school draws residents to animal rights day

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April 8, 2010

Mary Kilpatrick, a professor at the Massachusetts School of Law, and Jonathan Stone Rankin, a pioneer in the field of animal law, were each honored with the Humane-itarian Award for contributions to improve and enhance the quality of life for animals during the Fourth Annual Animal Rights Day at the Andover law school on Saturday.

Professors Diane Sullivan, an expert in the animal-law field, and Holly Vietzke were the primary organizers of the event, which offered a full slate of activities for children and families, including an Easter Egg hunt with the Easter Bunny in the library of MSL. Other activities included an agility dog demonstration, a demonstration by the canine unit of the Essex County Sheriff's Department, an appearance by the Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans, exhibits by The Curious Creatures, The Dolphin Campaign, and International Animal Rescue, and a talk on bird intelligence, by Dr. Irene Pepperberg of Brandeis University, researcher. Vendors were part of the free day which benefitted The Shadow Fund. The fund was established by the Massachusetts School of Law to assist pet owners who cannot afford necessary medical treatment for their beloved companion animals.

"I am a big believer in the Shadow Fund," WBZ Radio personality and former WBZ-TV reporter Dan Rea, a past recipient of the Humane-itarian Award, said in a release. "There are no administrative costs, so every dollar donated goes directly to helping people and their pets who really need that help. The Shadow Fund is a small fund. It doesn't raise millions of dollars, but Diane Sullivan and the other people involved with the fund do millions of dollars worth of good work with limited resources."